Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 8.djvu/79

 OCCUPATION OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER. 71 which otherwise must be lost forever, or rather never enjoyed ; and, from all that can be ascertained relative to its present and increasing value, of more profit to this country than the mines of Potosi. From the best information which can be had, it appears that the Indian trade on the Missouri, below the Mandan villages, is worth about $120,000, and that on the Mississippi is valued at $250,000, making the sum of $370,000 annually. They have reflected upon this trade, and that prosecuted by the whalers on that coast, and are irresistibly drawn to the conclusion, that they are the most valuable to this nation, and demand its care and attention in a high degree. This trade, unlike any other, originates its own capital, and may fairly be said to bring into the United States $370,000 every year, where not one dollar previously existed, and adds that much to the wealth of the community, as decidedly as though it had been fished from the bottom of the rivers in gold and silver, as it is in the market of China, or any oth^r market, capable of purchasing as much: and if, with that amount in furs, a vessel should sail from the mouth of Columbia to Canton, which is a voyage of from fifty to munity $740,000, which is the result not of a profitable voyage, but a creative trade. It is believed that a shipment of tobacco, flour, or cotton bears no comparison in point of profit with this, as they are properly the rough manufactures of the country, and the result of considerable, capital, and the cargo brought back ir return for them, in European or other fabrics, is only an in- creased value they receive by being exported, and returned to us in that shape. Hence, the exportation of $370,000 worth of tobacco or cotton, should it return to us $740,000 in European silks and cloth, is still the original cargo of tobacco or cotton, as nothing but these have been paid for them; but, in the first instance, he who manufactures either the tobacco, flour or cotton, is compelled to take into consid- eration the capital employed, and then the balance is his gain ;