fairs at Astoria, we
will return for a moment to the master spirit of the enterprise, who
regulated the springs of Astoria, at his residence in New York.

It will be remembered, that a part of the plan of Mr. Astor was to
furnish the Russian fur establishment on the northwest coast with
regular supplies, so as to render it independent of those casual vessels
which cut up the trade and supplied the natives with arms. This plan had
been countenanced by our own government, and likewise by Count Pahlen,
the Russian minister at Washington. As its views, however, were
important and extensive, and might eventually affect a wide course of
commerce, Mr Astor was desirous of establishing a complete arrangement
on the subject with the Russian American Fur Company, under the
sanction of the Russian government. For this purpose, in March 1811,
he despatched a confidential agent to St. Petersburg, full empowered
to enter into the requisite negotiations. A passage was given to this
gentleman by the government of the United States in the John Adams, an
armed vessel, bound for Europe.

The next step of Mr. Astor was, to despatch the annual ship contemplated
on his general plan. He had as yet heard nothing of the success of
the previous expeditions, and had to proceed upon the presumption
that everything had been effected according to his instructions. He
accordingly fitted out a fine ship of four hundred and ninety tons,
called the Beaver, and freighted her with a valuable cargo destined for
the factory at the mouth of the Columbia, the trade along the coast,
and the supply of the Russian establishment. In this ship embarked a
reinforcement, consisting of a partner, five clerks, fifteen American
laborers, and six Canadian voyageurs. In choosing his agents for his
first expedition, Mr. Astor had been obliged to have recourse to British
subjects experienced in the Canadian fur trade; henceforth it was his
intention, as much as possible, to select Americans, so as to secure an
ascendency of American influence in the management of the company, and
to make it decidedly national.

Accordingly, Mr. John Clarke, the partner who took the lead in the
present expedition, was a native of the United States, though he had
passed much of his life in the northwest, having been employed in the
trade since the age of sixteen. Most of the clerks were young gentlemen
of good connections in the American cities, some of whom embarked in the
hope of gain,