Page:Centennial History of Oregon 1811-1912, Volume 1.djvu/184



106 THE CENTENNIAL HISTORY OP OREGON

that could be reached in a few miuutes. The five meu who had been ordered into the rigging to unfurl the sails, seeing the slaughter droppeJ through the steerage hatchway, one being stabbed to death as he dropped down ; the other four closed the hatches over their heads, then broke through into the cabin, seized fire arms and attacked the Indians who fled from the ship in dismay. The next day the four men took a ship 's boat and piit out to sea and were never heard from after- wards. Now all the men were dead or gone in this boat with the possible excep- tion of Jaines Lewis, who was supposed to have been the first man killed, but who fell into the hold of the ship and might not have then died. At all events, the Indians believed that all were gone or dead ; and from the report of the in- terpreter whom the squaws hid and protected when he jumped over the side of the ship when the carnage commenced, and which report he made to Pranchere two years after, the Indians approached the ship next day with great caution, sailing round and round to see if any man was alive ; and finally encouraged by increasing numbers they, swarmed over the boat side until there were five hun- dred Indians aboard. Then. without premonition, with a terrible explosion the ship blew all to pieces and two hundred Indians were killed and drowned in- staiitly. The powder magazine had been reached by fire in some way, and whether it was the wounded man Lewis, having no hopes of his own life, and knowing he would surely be killed if found alive, or whether it was spontaneous combustion that fired the magazine will never be known.

Returning again to Astoria, and while the building of the fort was in progress, faint rumors were carried in by the Indians that a company of white men were building a fort far up the Columbia at a great waterfall. It was decided to find out the truth of this story ; but before a party could be spared to go up the river any great distance, two strange Indians were brought to the fort by Concomly's men, whose dress was that of the Indians on the east side of the Rocky mountains. They said they had been sent to carry a letter from Finnan McDonald, a clerk of the Northwest Company at a fort on the Spokane river, to John Stuart in New Caledonia, and losing their way, and hearing from other Indians of the white men at Astoria had come there thinking that was the place to gO to. This gave the Northwest Company away. They had rushed their men over into Old Oregon to Forestall Astor. This was discouraging news to the Astor men, for they had but slight resources to found their new posts in the interior. But they resolved to accept the challenge, hold the country, and plant post for post alongside the Nortiiwesters as long as their means would hold out. David Stuart was selected with men and Indians to start for the interior on July 15, 1811. But about noon of that day, while loading their canoes to start, a large canoe with eight white men flying the British flag swept around Tongue Point and made straight for Astoria. The Astorians were thunderstruck ; here was war and rumors of war. As the canoe touched the little wharf a distinguished gentleman stepped ashore and announced himself as David Thompson. He was politely received and hos- pitably entertained, but distinctly informed that he could not raise his flag at Astoria, for this was American territory. Thompson freely explained how he had, with a large party, been rushed to the Rocky mountains, with instructions to come over the mountains and down to the mouth of the Columbia and take pos- session of the country ; but having been snowed in at the mountains had failed to get through to the mouth of the Columbia in 1810. How little things change the