The first man to take up the work begun by the heroes we have been noticing was John Jacob Astor, who, after long negotiations with the various companies struggling for the monopoly of the fur-trade of the North, succeeded in founding yet another association, under the name of the Pacific Fur Company. This new confederation, having won the co-operation of many of the best agents of its rivals, found itself in a position to compete with them on more than equal terms, and, as early as 1810, a thoroughly well-organized expedition, divided into two parts――one going by land, the other by sea――started for the mouth of the Columbia, where it was proposed to erect a fort as the head-quarters of the new trade to be opened. After a successful voyage from Montreal _via_ the Sandwich Islands, the _Tonquin_, bearing the advanced guard of traders and emigrants, including Mr. M’Dougal, who represented Mr. Astor, cast anchor off the mouth of the Columbia. Here a landing was at once effected, and M’Dougal and his chief assistant, a man named Stuart, were hospitably entertained by the Chinooks, whose chief aided them in selecting a suitable place for the foundation of their fort, and showed no jealousy of their wish to settle near him. The town now known as Astoria (N. lat. 46° 11′, W. long. 123° 42′) was quickly built; a factory soon rose beside it; the natives came in with their furs for sale; and all seemed likely to go so well, that the _Tonquin_ was allowed to start on a trading trip up the coast, leaving but a few settlers to await the arrival of the land party. No sooner was the vessel out of reach, however, than rumors began to be circulated of a conspiracy among the neighboring tribes to massacre all the white men; and while preparations were being made to meet this unexpected danger, some wandering Indians from the Straits of Juan de Fuca brought tidings that the _Tonquin_ had been lost with all on board. The truth of this melancholy event was soon confirmed by members of yet another tribe, and gradually the whole story leaked out. The _Tonquin_ had fallen a victim, not to the usual perils of the deep, but to a quarrel between Thorn, its captain, and some natives of Vancouver’s Island. Steering to the north, with an Indian named Samazee as interpreter in his proposed dealings with the natives, Thorn reached Vancouver’s Island in safety, and cast anchor in the harbor of Neweetee, though Samazee warned him that the people about there were not to be trusted. On the following day the ship was boarded by a number of natives, including two sons of Wicanainsh, the chief of the country round Neweetee, and an old chief named Nookamis, who had long been accustomed to drive bargains with the English.