DEDICATION To Murray and Rosa, and to Rags EPIGRAPH [T]his is the land of liberty and equality, where a man sees and feels that he is a man merely, and that he can no longer exist, [except if] he can himself procure the means of support. —Robert Stuart, journal postscript for October 13, 1812, while starving in today’s Wyoming, shortly before discovering the South Pass CONTENTS Dedication Epigraph List of Maps Cast of Characters Author’s Note Map Prologue Part One - The Launch Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Part Two - The Journey Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Photographic Insert Chapter Fourteen Part Three - Pacific Empire and War Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-one Epilogue Fate of the Astorians Acknowledgments Notes Selected Sources Credits Index About the Author Also by Peter Stark Copyright About the Publisher LIST OF MAPS Astor’s Global Trade Scheme, 1810 Hunt Overland Party, July–November 1810 Mouth of Columbia River and Columbia Bar Hunt Overland Party, April–July 1811 Hunt Overland Party, July–October 1811 Hunt Overland Party, November 1811–February 1812 Columbia Basin Region with Trade Posts CAST OF CHARACTERS SEAGOING PARTY Captain of the Tonquin CAPTAIN JONATHAN THORN—age thirty-one. U.S. naval hero whom Astor hired to captain the Tonquin on the voyage around Cape Horn to the West Coast and then to China. Partners Aboard the Tonquin ALEXANDER MCKAY—age forty at the time he joined. Highly respected for his experience as explorer, trader, and friend of the Indians in many years’ service in Canada with the North West Company, he was a shareholding partner and trader with Astor’s enterprise, sailing aboard the Tonquin. DUNCAN MCDOUGALL—age unknown. Scottish fur trader from Canada and former North West Company employee appointed by Astor to be second in command for his “emporium” on the West Coast and to lead it whenever Wilson Price Hunt was absent. DAVID STUART—age forty-five. One of the oldest members of the Astor enterprise, the Scottish emigrant had lived some years in Canada, probably in the fur trade, before going out aboard the Tonquin as shareholding partner and fur trader. ROBERT STUART—age twenty-five. The younger Stuart, also Scottish-born, worked briefly as a clerk for the North West Company in Canada before joining Astor’s company with his uncle David, and also held a small number of shares. Notable Clerks Aboard the Tonquin GABRIEL FRANCHÈRE—age twenty-four. A French Canadian born in Montreal to a merchant family, Franchère sailed aboard the Tonquin as a clerk and kept his own journal account of the expedition. ALEXANDER ROSS—age twenty-seven. Scottish-born, Ross worked as a schoolteacher in Canada before seeking his fortune by joining Astor’s Pacific enterprise as a clerk, sailing aboard the Tonquin but staying at Astoria when she sailed on. He also kept his own journal. JAMES LEWIS—clerk from New York who sailed aboard the Tonquin. THOMAS MCKAY—son of Alexander McKay (above) who stayed at Astoria when the Tonquin sailed onward. The Seagoing Party also included seven additional clerks, about fifteen French- Canadian voyageurs, and about five craftsmen such as blacksmiths and carpenters. Crew of the Tonquin In addition, the Tonquin carried officers and crew, totaling about twenty-three people, and, after stopping at Hawaii, Hawaiians numbering about twenty-four individuals. THE OVERLAND PARTY Leader WILSON PRICE HUNT—age twenty-seven. The young New Jersey–born businessman, who had worked as a fur trade supplier in St. Louis, was appointed by Astor to lead the Overland Party across the continent and head Astor’s West Coast operations. Partners