The Adventures of Captain Bonneville | Page 5

the world. I found it full of interesting details of life among the
mountains, and of the singular castes and races, both white men and red
men, among whom he had sojourned. It bore, too, throughout, the
impress of his character, his bonhommie, his kindliness of spirit, and
his susceptibility to the grand and beautiful.
That manuscript has formed the staple of the following work. I have
occasionally interwoven facts and details, gathered from various
sources, especially from the conversations and journals of some of the
captain's contemporaries, who were actors in the scenes he describes. I
have also given it a tone and coloring drawn from my own observation,
during an excursion into the Indian country beyond the bounds of
civilization; as I before observed, however, the work is substantially the
narrative of the worthy captain, and many of its most graphic passages
are but little varied from his own language.

I shall conclude this notice by a dedication which he had made of his
manuscript to his hospitable brother in arms, in whose quarters I found
him occupied in his literary labors; it is a dedication which, I believe,
possesses the qualities, not always found in complimentary documents
of the kind, of being sincere, and being merited.
To JAMES HARVEY HOOK, Major, U. S. A., whose jealousy of its
honor, whose anxiety for its interests, and whose sensibility for its
wants, have endeared him to the service as The Soldier's Friend; and
whose general amenity, constant cheerfulness. disinterested hospitality,
and unwearied benevolence, entitle him to the still loftier title of The
Friend of Man, this work is inscribed, etc.
WASHINGTON IRVING

1. State of the fur trade of the Rocky Mountains American enterprises
General Ashley and his associates Sublette, a famous leader Yearly
rendezvous among the mountains Stratagems and dangers of the trade
Bands of trappers Indian banditti Crows and Blackfeet Mountaineers
Traders of the Far West Character and habits of the trapper
IN A RECENT WORK we have given an account of the grand
enterprise of Mr. John Jacob Astor to establish an American emporium
for the fur trade at the mouth of the Columbia, or Oregon River; of the
failure of that enterprise through the capture of Astoria by the British,
in 1814; and of the way in which the control of the trade of the
Columbia and its dependencies fell into the hands of the Northwest
Company. We have stated, likewise, the unfortunate supineness of the
American government in neglecting the application of Mr. Astor for the
protection of the American flag, and a small military force, to enable
him to reinstate himself in the possession of Astoria at the return of
peace; when the post was formally given up by the British government,
though still occupied by the Northwest Company. By that supineness
the sovereignty in the country has been virtually lost to the United
States; and it will cost both governments much trouble and difficulty to
settle matters on that just and rightful footing on which they would

readily have been placed had the proposition of Mr. Astor been
attended to. We shall now state a few particulars of subsequent events,
so as to lead the reader up to the period of which we are about to treat,
and to prepare him for the circumstances of our narrative.
In consequence of the apathy and neglect of the American government,
Mr. Astor abandoned all thoughts of regaining Astoria, and made no
further attempt to extend his enterprises beyond the Rocky Mountains;
and the Northwest Company considered themselves the lords of the
country. They did not long enjoy unmolested the sway which they had
somewhat surreptitiously attained. A fierce competition ensued
between them and their old rivals, the Hudson's Bay Company; which
was carried on at great cost and sacrifice, and occasionally with the loss
of life. It ended in the ruin of most of the partners of the Northwest
Company; and the merging of the relics of that establishment, in 1821,
in the rival association. From that time, the Hudson's Bay Company
enjoyed a monopoly of the Indian trade from the coast of the Pacific to
the Rocky Mountains, and for a considerable extent north and south.
They removed their emporium from Astoria to Fort Vancouver, a
strong post on the left bank of the Columbia River, about sixty miles
from its mouth; whence they furnished their interior posts, and sent
forth their brigades of trappers.
The Rocky Mountains formed a vast barrier between them and the
United States, and their stern and awful defiles, their rugged valleys,
and the great western plains watered by their rivers, remained almost a
terra incognita to the American trapper. The difficulties experienced in
1808, by Mr. Henry of the Missouri Company, the first American who
trapped upon the