Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 8.djvu/71

 OCCUPATION OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER. 63 day, having exhausted those parts of Europe which had sup- plied them, the price increasing with a growing demand, they were obliged to seek them elsewhere, and procured their sup- plies from the north of Asia. This, for a long time, poured into the adjoining parts of Europe, immense sums, as it was in that direction they were brought to market. This trade, so valuable to that part of the world had no competition, nor were other sources of supply even known until Francis I. of France, in the 1514, sent Jacques Cartier, of St. Maloes, to make discoveries in this country. That gentleman entered the St. Lawrence and exchanged his merchandise for fur, which was the commencement of a feeble trade, that was con- tinued until the year 1608, when Samuel Champlain went some distance up that river, and laid the foundation of the town of Quebec, as a trading establishment, and commenced a system which, however, did not greatly flourish until about the year 1649. But very soon after that country came into possession of England, this trade was cherished and greatly increased, and the dominion of the Hudson's Bay enabled her, not only to supply Russia itself and all Europe, but even to send it to Turkey, and round the Cape of Good Hope, to distant China, That trade which had destroyed all competi- tion, and, in the hands of well regulated companies, capable of enriching an empire, had yielded a part of its profits to the skill and industry of individuals on our western shore; that skill and that industry has withered, not for the want of fostering care, but justice and protection. The fur trade of Canada has long been conducted by well organized companies; and, although they encounter infinite difficulties, yet the great profit of their business enables them to overcome them, and to divide a considerable per cent. All those articles intended as supplies for the Indians are shipped to Montreal, and carried far into the interior, through lakes and rivers and difficult streams, until they arrive even in the vicinity of the Rocky Mountains. The increasing wealth de- rived from this source, induced a larger increase of capital, and corresponding exertions to obtain a more extensive knowl-