Page:Centennial History of Oregon 1811-1912, Volume 1.djvu/104



mountains his party mutinied, and all but eight men deserted him, carrying off all the goods, stores and food supplies they thought necessary for their preserva- tion, and took the back track to Canada. It shows the character and capacity of Thompson, that this mutiny did not disconcert him. It was now winter, Decem- ber, 1810, and Thompson and his remaining eight faithful men set to work to make themselves as comfortable as possible in that inhospitable region, building a log hut and laying in supplies of fish and game.

Early in the spring of 1811, Thompson was again actively at work. His in- structions from his principals were to build forts at all commanding points, make a survey and map of the country and watch the expected expedition of Astor. Examining the region about him, he became satisfied that he was in a country not seen by either Mackenzie or Eraser ; and determining to find out where he was and how he could get farther west, he constructed a canoe and launched it on an unknown river. Then caching all his goods he broke camp and bid good- bye to the hoarj- mountains. He floated down the unknown stream to its mouth and there to his great surprise he — the first British subject to see — discovered the great Columbia river, six years after Lewis and Clark had descended the Clearwater branch of the same stream nearly four hundred miles farther south. Thompson struck the Columbia at the apex of the gi'eat northern bend of the river just where it tuxms to run southward to the Arrow Lakes. He was over- joyed at his discovery, and continued his course on down the great river with his eight men and their canoes, through the Arrow Lakes, the Little Dalles, the Great Dalles, the Cascades, on down, down, until he reached Astoria, July 15, 1811, being the first English subject to traverse the whole course of the Colum- bia river. In his trip down the Columbia, Thompson faithfully complied with his instructions, and at various points along the river stopped and built little huts sufficient to house a few men, and raised flags over them in the name of the King of England.

By the month of July, Thom2:)son had reached the junction of the Columbia and Snake rivers. Here he found at the abandoned site of the old town of Ains- worth, a large Indian camp, and seeing the natural and strategic advantages of the point, erected a pole, raised the British flag thereon and nailed the following notice on the pole: "Knoiu hereby that this country is claimed by Great Britain, as part of its territories, and that the Northwest Company of Merchants from Canada, finding the factory of this people inconvenient to them, do hereby in- tend to erect a factory in this place for the commerce of the country around." And by posting these muniments of title it is seen that the Northwest Company ■was quite as loyal to old England as the Hudson's Bay Company, although it was itself a trespasser in this territorj- as against its rival, the Hudson's Bay Company.

His intention was unquestionably to take symbolic possession of the country and to hold it by such rights, of discovery or possession as could be set up by the British government.

But he reached Astoria too late. The Tonquiu, Aster's ship, sailed from New York on September 8, 1810, and reached a landing inside the Columbia river at Baker's Bay on March 24, 1811.

When Thompson reached Astoria, he was most politelly received by Astor 's men, and assigned comfortable quarters inside the fort; but the Astorians frilly