He found that the king
had profited in more ways than one by his intercourse with white men.
Above all other arts he had learned the art of driving a bargain. He was
a magnanimous monarch, but a shrewd pork merchant; and perhaps thought
he could not do better with his future allies, the American Fur Company,
than to begin by close dealing. Several interviews were requisite, and
much bargaining, before he could be brought to part with a bristle of
his bacon, and then he insisted upon being paid in hard Spanish dollars;
giving as a reason that he wanted money to purchase a frigate from his
brother George, as he affectionately termed the king of England. *
At length the royal bargain was concluded; the necessary supply of hogs
obtained, besides several goats, two sheep, a quantity of poultry, and
vegetables in abundance. The partners now urged to recruit their forces
from the natives of this island. They declared they had never seen
watermen equal to them, even among the voyageurs of the Northwest; and,
indeed, they are remarkable for their skill in managing their light
craft, and can swim and dive like waterfowl. The partners were inclined,
therefore, to take thirty or forty with them to the Columbia, to be
employed in the service of the company. The captain, however, objected
that there was not room in his vessel for the accommodation of such a
number.
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