Page:The Columbia river , or, Scenes and adventures during a residence of six years on the western side of the Rocky Mountains among various tribes of Indians hitherto unknown (Volume 1).djvu/93

 *derstand the situation of affairs at the time of our arrival, it will be necessary to take a short retrospect of the transactions that occurred antecedent to that period.

The ship Tonquin, to which I have alluded in the introduction, sailed from New York on the 6th September, 1810. She was commanded by Captain Jonathan Thorn, a gentleman who had been formerly a first lieutenant in the navy of the United States; and while in that service, during their short war with Algiers, had distinguished himself as a bold and daring officer. His manners were harsh and arbitrary, with a strong tincture of that peculiar species of American amor patriæ, the principal ingredient of which is a marked antipathy to Great Britain and its subjects.

Four partners, namely, Messrs. Alexander M'Kay, Duncan M'Dougall, David and Robert Stuart, embarked in her, with eight clerks, and a number of artisans and voyageurs, all destined for the Company's establishment at the Columbia. These gentlemen were all British subjects: and, although engaged with Americans in a commercial speculation, and sailing under the flag of the United States, were sincerely attached to their king and the country of their birth.