But, after all, a good deal of petty manœuvring took place, not very creditable to the representative of a great body. M‘Tavish expected the armed ship _Isaac Todd_, fitted out as a letter of marque, into the river daily, and in that case Astoria would have been captured as a prize, and become the property of the North-West Company without purchase; and besides, he had learned that the British Government had despatched a ship of war to cruise on the coast of the Pacific, and that she might be looked for hourly; and the moment she entered the river all the American property, as a matter of course, would have been seized as a prize. In either case, M‘Tavish would have saved his bills of exchange. Under this impression he put off from time to time, under various pretences, the signing of the documents. M‘Dougall and M‘Kenzie, however, saw through this piece of artifice, and insisted that the business should be ratified at once. M‘Tavish, however, full of commercial wiles, tried to evade and retard every step taken. M‘Dougall, in the mean time, had a squadron of boats in readiness, should any suspicious vessel come in {254} sight, to transport the furs and goods up to the Wallamitte out of her reach. While matters were in this unsettled state, Mr. M‘Kenzie suggested a decisive measure, which brought the negotiation to a speedy close. M‘Tavish and his party were encamped at the time within a few yards of the fort, and sheltered, as it were, under the protection of our guns. They were also indebted to the generosity of the Astorians for their daily supplies; being themselves without goods, ammunition, or provisions. One morning before daylight Messrs. M‘Dougall and M‘Kenzie summoned all hands together, seventy-two in number, and after a brief statement of the views of the North-West in reference to the negotiation, ordered the bastions to be manned, the guns to be loaded and pointed, and the matches lighted. In an instant every man was at his post, and the gates shut. At eight o’clock a message was sent to M‘Tavish, giving him two hours, and no more, either to sign the bills or break off the negotiation altogether and remove to some other quarters. By eleven o’clock the bills were finally and formally signed, and Astoria was delivered up to the North-West Company on the 12th of November, after nearly a month of suspense between the drawing and the signing of the bills. {255} CHAPTER XVI