The Executive could not annul the provisions of that law. But I was
directed to instruct the collectors on the lakes, in case you and your
agents should voluntarily bring in and deliver to them any part of the
goods above mentioned, to receive and keep them in their guard, and not
to commence prosecutions until further instructions: the intention
being then to apply to Congress for an act remitting the forfeiture and
penalties. I wrote accordingly, to that effect, to the collectors of
Detroit and Michilimackinac.
The attempt to obtain the goods did not, however, succeed; and I cannot
say how far the failure injured you. But the war proved fatal to another
much more extensive and important enterprise.
Previous to that time, but I also forget the year, you had undertaken
to carry on a trade on your own account, though I believe under the New
York charter of the American Fur Company, with the Indians west of the
Rocky Mountains. This project was also communicated to government, and
met, of course, with its full approbation, and best wishes, for your
success. You carried it on, on the most extensive scale, sending several
ships to the mouth of the Columbia River, and a large party by land
across the mountains, and finally founding the establishment of Astoria.
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