(From 'Our Turn in Paradise, Wiese, Lynn, pg 46-48)
To understand the motives of the American explorers and
mountain men takes a deeper knowledge of the American
fur trade beginning in the late 18th century.
The Jay Treaty of 1794 between the United States and
Great Britain made it easier for Americans to do business
with British run companies like the Hudson Bay Company
and the North West Company, both dealing in the bounty
of beaver pelts. After the Louisiana Purchase was complete
and the Corp of Discovery had reported back from their
1804-1806 cross country voyage, American entrepreneurs
like John Jacob Astor set out to harvest the bounty of furs
that Lewis and Clark had described. It was a trapper's
delight just waiting for eager Americans to plunder.
The lines of governance in North America were not well
defined in the late 18th century and the British and the
French had already been exploring the Rocky Mountains and
areas west of the Mississippi River for years. The Hudson John Jacob Astor
Bay Company and the Northwest Fur Company were well established by 1810, when Astor formed the Pacific Fur
Company, a subsidiary of his larger company, the American Fur Company. The instability of the United States
fledgling economy and new policies led to the short life of the Pacific Fur Company. It was only registered as a
business from 1810-1814 and did not report profits. Astor got his initial investment back and its unknown to me if
the other partners were compensated. William Hunt's overland party of 'Astorians' was able to set up several forts
along the Missouri and Columbia that became American outposts and were beneficial to American mountain men,
trappers, miners, and entrepreneurs. Robert Stuart's party of 'Returning Astorians' helped thousands of pioneers
who used the South Pass route they charted on the Oregon trail to follow their dreams west.
Lets consider the Embargo act and the Non-Intercourse Act when we think of this time frame. The Embargo Act
of 1807 was a significant piece of legislation enacted by the United States Congress in response to the growing
tensions between Britain and France during the Napoleonic Wars. As American shipping expanded in the early
19th century, both nations began targeting neutral American vessels to undermine each other’s trade, leading to the
seizure of American merchant ships accused of trading with "enemy nations." American merchantmen who were trading with "enemy nations" were seized as contraband of war by British and French navies. In an attempt to protect its interests and assert its neutrality, the U.S. imposed a general trade embargo, the Embargo Act of 1807, halting all foreign trade. This made it hard for domestic (North American continental) trade, but it was especially hard to trade via shipping routes to Great Britain. Astor, who had been sending fine pelts to the British and filling his ships with European and Chinese goods to sell in his shops in America, was very encumbered by the embargo. In terms of diplomacy, the embargo failed to improve the American diplomatic position, and sharply increased international political tensions. Both widespread evasion of the embargo and loopholes in the legislation reduced its impact on its targets. In the waning days of Jefferson's presidency, the Non-Intercourse Act lifted all embargoes on American shipping except for cargo bound for British or French ports. Enacted on March 1, 1809, it exacerbated tensions with Britain. This drastic measure proved economically detrimental, increased domestic discontent and ultimately contributed to the onset of the War of 1812. British merchants were well-positioned to grow at Americans’ expense when the embargo sharply reduced American trade activity.
William Price Hunt
John Jacob Astor was a German-born American businessman, merchant,
real estate mogul, and investor. Astor made his fortune mainly in the fur trade and by investing in real estate around New York City. Seeing the expansion of population to the west, Astor entered the fur trade in the
$229 million dollars in 2024) exporting furs to Great Britain. He later
expanded into the American west and Pacific coast where he was incredibly influential in trade with the Far East, creating the Pacific Fur Company in
1810. Astor, was a savvy businessman and each time he was faced with the
politicization of international trade affecting his business, he was thinking of ways to be more profitable and be patriotic by staying within the parameters of the laws of his new country. Following the passing of the Non-Intercourse Act, he saw more opportunity to do business in the Russia and China so he commissioned two expeditions to establish trade routes to the Pacific, one overland and one by sea.
The overland route followed Lewis and Clark's route to the Pacific Ocean. William ‘Wilson’ Price Hunt met John
Jacob Astor in New York and in 1810 was one of the 6 founding members of the Pacific Fur Company. Hunt was
commissioned by Astor to lead the overland expedition to the Pacific and establish a fort. After 340 days, the Astorians
reached the mouth of the Columbia river and established Fort Astoria. in 1812, Hunt took a ship called the 'Beaver'
to the Kamchatka peninsula and to Hawaii.
The overland return voyage of some of the Astorian party took them through the upper Snake River Valley. In 1812,
9 of their party ended up together near Alpine, Wyoming. They were called the ‘Returning Astorians'. Three of the
returning Astorians, Hoback, Robinson and Reisnor stayed in the area to continue trapping. The other six, led by
Robert Stuart, had a harrowing journey around the area. All of their horses were stolen and they were wandering
around the areas of the Salt, Hoback, Greys, Green and Snake Rivers and even reportedly rafted down the Snake River.
They eventually ended up heading in the right direction, after some Shoshone sold them ‘1 broke down horse’.
(https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/astorians-south-pass-discovery)
They found their way to the Green River and were the first white people to chart a course over South Pass, which
was later traveled by thousands of settlers on the Oregon trail.
Robert Stuart
On pages 46-48 of 'Our Turn in Paradise', Lynn Wiese recounts the travels of the "Returning Astorians" through Grand Valley. Scans of those pages are below these other book recommendations.
'Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson's Lost Pacific Empire: A Story of Wealth, Ambition, and Survival' by Peter Stark
'Astoria: Or, Anecdotes of an Enterprise Beyond the Rocky Mountains' by Washington Irving
'Across the Great Divide: Robert Stuart and the Discovery of the Oregon Trail' by Laton McCartney
'The Discovery of the Oregon Trail: Robert Stuart's Narratives of His Overland Trip Eastward from Astoria in 1812-13' by Philip Ashton Rollins
There is a marker commemorating the 'Returning Astorians' in Alpine, Wyoming.
(From 'Our Turn in Paradise, Wiese, Lynn, pg 46-48)
Fun Facts:
John Jacob Astor died on the Titanic, probably the wealthiest passenger on the doomed ship.
On pages 46-48 of 'Our Turn in Paradise', Lynn Wiese recounts the travels of the "Returning Astorians" through Grand Valley. Scans of those pages are below these other book recommendations.
