Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 3.djvu/17

Rh vindicated. Cargoes of fur were gathered up along the coast at a trifling sum and taken to the market at Canton, where they were sold at a high price. Vessels loading for the return with the teas, silks, and spices of China, carried them to the markets of Europe and America, netting sometimes as high as one thousand per cent upon the capital invested.

All along the coast from Alaska to California the vessels touched and gathered their rich harvest of furs. Stopping at customary points along the shore, the merchants' goods were displayed upon the deck of the vessel and the Indians came out in their canoes to make their exchanges. Skirting along the coast in this way, the merchant vessels of New England carried off the resources of Oregon to add to the enjoyments of the social life of the East. Though the early merchants did not establish themselves within the country nor attempt to further settlement, they were the stimulus which acted as the forerunner of a social life for Oregon. The superficial resources were utilized, and the more latent ones would be sure to be discovered. Their operations extended far to the north of the Oregon coast and far to the south, but they had seen Oregon, and a bond of connection had been established that was to make New England a prominent factor in the social evolution. From that connection were to spring important results. Forceful individuals at critical times came from the population of New England to further the life of Oregon, and her representatives in congress were more outspoken in the interests of a region in which they had an interest.

In another direction the same impulse that had led to the maritime fur trade was to make known the interior resources of the country and inspire to a change in the fur trading methods. Greater permanency was given to them, and the center of fur trading operation was located