Unluckily, the war which broke out in 1812 between Great Britain and
the United States suspended the association; and, after the war, it was
entirely dissolved; Congress having passed a law prohibiting the British
fur traders from prosecuting their enterprises within the territories of
the United States.
CHAPTER III.
Fur Trade in the Pacific--American Coasting Voyages--Russian
Enterprises.--Discovery of the Columbia River.--Carver's
Project to Found a Settlement There.--Mackenzie's
Expedition.--Lewis and Clarke's Journey Across the Rocky
Mountains--Mr. Astor's Grand Commercial Scheme.--His
Correspondence on the Subject With Mr. Jefferson.--His
Negotiations With the Northwest Company.--His Steps to Carry
His Scheme Into Effect.
WHILE the various companies we have noticed were pushing their
enterprises far and wide in the wilds of Canada, and along the course of
the great western waters, other adventurers, intent on the same objects,
were traversing the watery wastes of the Pacific and skirting the
northwest coast of America. The last voyage of that renowned but
unfortunate discoverer, Captain Cook, had made known the vast quantities
of the sea-otter to be found along that coast, and the immense prices to
be obtained for its fur in China.
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