Up the Columbia for Furs
Caldwell: Caxton Printers, 1950. Second printing. 309pp. Octavo [23.5 cm] Gray cloth with the titles stamped in blue on the front boatrd and backstrip. Map endsheets and pastedpowns. Near fine/Near fine. Jacket price clipped. Item #10087
Illustrated by E. Joseph Dreany. This work trade on the fur trade prints the editied journals of Ross Cox and Alexander Ross, both of whom worked for the Pacific Fur Company. American businessman John Jacob Astor established the Pacific Fur Company in 1810. He hoped to control the fur trade of the Pacific Northwest, and push out his main competitors, Great Britain's Hudson's Bay Company and Canada's North West Company. In 1810, 33 employees of the Pacific Fur Company arrived at the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon after an arduous journey. Here they established Fort Astoria and began negotiating with local Native American tribes for beaver and sea otter pelts. Despite some initial success, the Pacific Fur Company was dealt a tragic blow in 1811 when the crew of their trading ship, the Tonquin, died at the hands of hostile native warriors off the coast of Vancouver Island. The Fort's supplies for the coming year were lost. Soon after, the War of 1812 broke out between the United States and Great Britain, disrupting trade and business. The Pacific Fur Company was officially dissolved in 1813.
Price: $30.00