, and laid up his ship to await the return of peace.
In the meanwhile, Mr. Hunt soon saw reason to repent the resolution he
had adopted in altering the destination of the ship. His stay at the
Sandwich Islands was prolonged far beyond expectation. He looked in
vain for the annual ship in the spring. Month after month passed by,
and still she did not make her appearance. He, too, proved the danger of
departing from orders. Had he returned from St. Paul's to Astoria, all
the anxiety and despondency about his fate, and about the whole course
of the undertaking, would have been obviated. The Beaver would have
received the furs collected at the factory and taken them to Canton, and
great gains, instead of great losses, would have been the result. The
greatest blunder, however, was that committed by Captain Sowle.
At length, about the 20th of June, the ship Albatross, Captain Smith,
arrived from China, and brought the first tidings of the war to the
Sandwich Islands. Mr. Hunt was no longer in doubt and perplexity as to
the reason of the non-appearance of the annual ship. His first thoughts
were for the welfare of Astoria, and, concluding that the inhabitants
would probably be in want of provisions, he chartered the Albatross for
two thousand dollars, to land him, with some supplies, at the mouth of
the Columbia, where he arrived, as we have seen, on the 20th of August,
after a year's seafaring that might have furnished a chapter in the
wanderings of Sinbad.
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